Various systems, kits and toys exist for children to construct and program robots. Systems do not exist that allow one to take advantage of modular blocks and other components while enabling robots to be built without sophisticated programming techniques and highly specialized knowledge. While there are some existing systems for constructing robots are centralized with one computer that controls robot operation, these existing systems do not embody a distributed computing model and do not allow the modular construction of robots by beginners. The few toys that contain more than one node of computation are passive entertainment products and are limited in their modes of interacting with the physical world.
Mechatronics is generally known as the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic/electrical engineering, computer science, software engineering, control engineering, and systems design in order to design and manufacture useful products. Regardless of how this term is defined, aspects of the present invention invoke mechatronics as a multidisciplinary field of engineering.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0122059, assigned to Modular Robotics Incorporated of Boulder, Colo., addresses some of these issues, and allows the construction of simple machines. However, the inventions described in that application do not provide a high degree of customization and are limited in the mechatronics that can be embodied in such constructions. This applies both to functionality and mechanical adaptability. There is currently a significant gap between smart construction blocks and inert bricks (such as LEGO™ bricks) that could allow for easily reconfigurable structures with mechanical and electrical function. See Schweikardt and M. D. Gross, “A Brief Survey of Distributed Computational Toys,” presented at DIGITEL 2007: The First IEEE International Workshop on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning, Jhongli, Taiwan, 2007. What is needed is a modular construction kit that provides units with a common interface to build castles, electrical circuits, remote controlled cars, autonomous legged robots, and many other intriguing active creations.